


The Avatar and Her Roommate

by Leriana



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Happy ending because we all need one right now, Korra Is a Badass Superhero, Love Wins, Roommate Be Creeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 08:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7215463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leriana/pseuds/Leriana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By day, Korra’s a regular college student trying to make ends meet. By night, she’s a crime fighting superhero going by the name 'The Avatar'. She’d get away with it, too, if her roommate stopped being so nosy.</p>
<p>Or: Korra’s a superhero and Asami is her suspicious roommate who asks way too many questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Avatar and Her Roommate

**Author's Note:**

> I'm dedicating this story to all the people that lost their lives in Orlando this past weekend. I don't usually write action scenes so please let me know what you think. All feedback is welcome.:)

Sometimes having super hearing is a blessing.

Sometimes it’s a curse.

On the night before her History exam, it’s an inconvenience.

Upon hearing the noise—a blood curdling scream that pierces through her subconscious—Korra shoots up in bed, her back ramrod straight, and cocks her head to listen more carefully.

The scream intensifies and Korra feels compelled to do _something_.

She tosses the covers off her body and rises to her feet. She moves quickly to her closet, putting a black tracksuit on over her pajamas, slapping on some gloves, and slipping a ski mask into her pocket. Once dressed, she quietly approaches her bedroom door and eases it open before slipping through the dorm room like a thief and into the night.

* * *

The streets are quiet and dark, lit up only by flickering streetlights. Korra lets the darkness shroud her as she moves swiftly from one abandoned brick building to the next.

Her senses crackle as they guide her. Two quick movements grab her attention. She follows them, her footsteps light as air. They disappear down an alleyway between two buildings and she peers around the corner. The putrid smell of rotting garbage hits her like a sucker punch to the stomach, making her grimace.

“You said it’d be ready,” growls a large bald man as he hovers over a smaller man. He’s clutching the neckband of his shirt, bringing the smaller man up to eye-level.

“And – and it – it almost is, Zaheer. I just – I just need a little more tim—“

“The Great Uniter doesn’t have time!” Zaheer tosses the smaller man carelessly at one of the dumpsters, and he lands in a heap and groans and rubs his head, but otherwise shows no sign of injury. “When was the deadline, Varrick?”

Varrick hesitates, his mouth opening and closing uncertainly.

Zaheer walks closer, like a lion stalking its prey. “When was the deadline, Varrick?” he demands, his voice low, and his eyes glinting.

“January 24th,” Varrick whispers, his body trembling.

“And what’s today?” The big man smirks as he edges closer.

Varrick’s eyes fall to the ground. “January 26th,” he mumbles.

By now, Zaheer is hovering over him and Korra wonders if he’s going to pick up Varrick and toss him in the dumpster. Instead, he merely stares at Varrick for several seconds. “Do you want to make Republic City a better place or not?”

Varrick’s eyes widen like that’s the craziest question he’s ever been asked. “You know I want to make this city a better place.”

Zaheer sneers. “Then you should’ve thought about that before missing the deadline.” He puts a hand in his pocket and pulls out a gun, and Varrick’s breathe hitches. “This is for The Great Uniter!”

“Tsk, tsk.” Korra comes out of the shadows and into the alleyway, waggling her finger teasingly, and both men jump. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Zaheer’s sneer comes back full force. He steps away from Varrick and faces Korra. “Are you 'The Avatar'?” he spats.

“No, I’m just your worst nightmare,” Korra drawls.

Zaheer grits his teeth and raises his gun to Korra’s ski-mask covered face. “You’re about to be dead meat, punk.”

Korra smiles, and although she knows Zaheer can’t see it, he can feel it in her muffled voice. “Shoot me,” she whispers, separating her feet so that they’re shoulder length apart and bending her knees. “I dare you.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Varrick exclaims. Korra and Zaheer glance at him and he cowers away. “I mean—sorry, sorry. Continue.”

Zaheer growls and takes one step toward Korra, raising the gun to her face. Korra closes her eyes and focuses. She’s waiting to hear Zaheer place his finger on the trigger, but the sound never comes. Just as she’s about to open her eyes, the barrel of the gun lands solidly on her right eye.

“Fuck!” She stumbles backwards and puts a hand over her throbbing eye.

Varrick stands up, rushing to her side and keeping her upright, and Zaheer fires the gun, the bullet zooming toward Varrick. Korra acts fast, stomping on the ground and raising a part of it to act as a shield. The bullet strikes the shield and Zaheer and Varrick gape in astonishment. Korra waves her arms, forming a mini tornado, and shoots it at Zaheer. Zaheer flies back into the brick wall, a sickening crack echoing in the air. He slides to the ground, unconscious.

“Are you okay?” Korra asks.

The question flies over Varrick’s head. “You can manipulate the elements?”

“I can.”

“Wow.” He takes a step backward and whistles. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. _How_?”

Korra shrugs, a wave of exhaustion and pain rushing over her. “I was born with it.”

“You saved my life,” Varrick says breathlessly, tears glistening his eyes. “Thank you.”

Korra groans, rubbing her eye over ski mask. “It’s no biggie.”

“What’s your name?”

Korra pauses, scrutinizing Varrick’s face with her one good eye. She sees no mal intent, just genuine curiosity, so she answers, “The Avatar,” before disappearing into the night.

* * *

It’s half past 4 when Korra wounds her way back to herdorm room with a pulsing black eye and wearing nothing but pajamas. She staggers in the hallway but manages to stay upright, and she slowly eases the door open. She steps inside the dark room, peering around the space for any signs of movement. When she detects none, she lets out a sigh of relief and begins the trek to her bedroom

“Where have you been?”

Korra gasps and jumps, her eyes darting around like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “Oh my god, you scared me.”

Asami’s sitting on their small couch, her black hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall, and even in the darkness of their shared room, Korra can see her concerned frown. 

“Sorry.” Asami sits up a little straighter and crosses her arms. “Where were you?”

“I couldn’t sleep so I was, uh…” Korra rubs the back of her neck. “Taking a walk.”

Asami raises an eyebrow. “Taking a walk,” she repeats flatly. “It’s 4:36 in the morning, you have class in a few hours, why not just walk around here.”

Korra deflates because those are all good points.

“I wanted to get some fresh air.”

Asami switches on a light and gasps when she sees Korra’s face. Korra winces, shielding her damaged eye, but it’s too late—Asami has already seen her. Asami scrambles up from the couch, rushing to Korra’s side, and Korra shifts her good eye to the ceiling because Asami’s sleep shorts are way too short and her legs are long and distracting.

“Aww, Korra, what happened to your eye?” Asami whispers, leaning into Korra’s personal space to examine it. It’s not weird—early mornings seem to be their personal space invasion time these days—but Korra’s heart can’t help but do a little leap. Asami is so close and she smells like soap and water and it’s delightful. Asami leans back, her nose scrunched up adorably. “And why do you smell like you’ve been rolling around in a dumpster?”

“I tripped,” Korra says and gives Asami a crooked little grin that makes her roll her eyes.

Asami grabs her arm, her fingers light and warm, and leads Korra to the kitchen. Korra follows silently, her cheeks burning red.  She sits on a stool, her hypothetical tail tucked between her legs, and watches Asami move to the freezer to pull out an icepack. After getting the icepack, Asami tears off some paper towels, wraps the ice pack, and joins Korra at the counter. Korra reaches for the icepack but Asami bats her hand away and gently places it over her pulsing eye.

“Better?” she asks softly.

“Better,” Korra mumbles. “Thanks.”                                                                                                                                         

“You’re welcome.”

In their year of living together, this isn’t the first time Asami’s caught her sneaking into their dorm room in the wee hours of the morning, but it’s definitely the first time Korra’s come back with an injury Asami can see. For a moment, Korra assumes Asami is going to chew her out.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Asami asks sternly.

“Yeah,” Korra says quickly, “why?”

“I’m worried about you, Korra. I just…” Asami sighs and sits on the stool next to Korra, her hand glued to the icepack. “I just want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to or… or _anything_ , I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Asami.” Korra swallows around her dry mouth. “The same goes for you. If you ever need me, I’m here for you.”

Next to her, Asami’s looking at her with warmth, concern, and something else, something beautiful, and it sends tingles down Korra’s spine.

* * *

“Do you think she’s in a fight club?” Asami asks, tilting her head curiously. She twirls her spaghetti and watches Mako douse his french fries in ketchup.

Mako shrugs and stuffs french fries by the dozen into his mouth. He wheezes through his nose, his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, and Asami frowns and pushes some napkins and his water bottle closer to him. He pops the cap off and drinks greedily. “Sorry,” he says, swallowing, “didn’t get to eat breakfast this morning. And to answer your question, she could be. Would explain the whole secretive thing.”

Asami goes quiet, her mind straying to her bright eyed roommate. She was barely able to focus on her morning classes, her thoughts wandering to Korra, and now she’s barely able to focus on lunch for the same reason.

“Or maybe she’s a drug dealer and had a bad transaction last night.”

“ _Mako_ ,” Asami scolds and reaches across the table to lightly slap his arm, “don’t say that about Korra. She’s a sweetheart.”

There’s a brief moment of silence where Mako eyes her suspiciously. “You like her, don’t you?”

Asami chokes on absolutely nothing. “No!” She shakes her head. “No. I like her, but as a friend. _Only_. That’s it. And I’m worried about her. Which is normal. Because _we’re friends_.”

Mako raises the burger to his mouth, amusement shining in his eyes. “Whatever you say, Asami.”

* * *

Korra’s exhausted. She flops down on the couch, plopping her feet in Asami’s lap, and lays an arm over her eyes.

Asami chuckles and massages her sock clad feet. “Tired?”

“Mmhmm,” Korra hums.

“How’s your eye feeling?”

_Like shit_ , is Korra’s first thought. In normal circumstances she would’ve healed it, but she knows Asami would grow even more suspicious if she woke up that morning and her eye was miraculously back to normal. So she’s letting nature take its sweet, long course. “Not bad,” she mumbles.

“I’m guessing you’re not going to the party tonight.”

Korra removes her arm and squints her good eye at Asami. “It’s Monday,” she says flatly. “I have class in the morning. Who the hell throws a party on Monday anyway?”

“Who the hell goes for a walk, _by themselves_ , at 3 o’clock in the morning?” Asami counters.

“Hey now, don’t knock it till you try it.” Korra purses her lips. “In fact, you should join me. We can count the stars and make wishes.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Asami’s says, but there’s a tilt to her lips that conveys otherwise.

Korra shrugs a shoulder and closes her eyes. “Your loss,” she says around a yawn.

* * *

The party’s not bad. The music’s decent, the drinks aren’t drugged, and Asami’s having a relatively good time. There’s just one problem: she misses Korra. She misses her to the point that she’s plastered, walking around the house like a lost puppy, and showing everybody pictures of her bestie.

“I mean, like, seriously, have you ever seen eyes this blue?” Asami’s words come out slightly slurred as she shows Bolin her cellphone gallery.

“Uh, no.” He scrunches up his face. “I haven’t.”

Frat girl Kuvira waltzes over. She’s tall and broad-shouldered, her muscles emphasized by her muscle shirt, and she slaps Bolin on his shoulder. “Hey, bud, Mako’s ‘bout to start beer pong, you playin’?”

Bolin brightens up. “You bet I am!” He turns to Asami, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Wanna watch me kick Mako’s ass?”

Asami sighs, the sound deep and sad. “No thanks. I think I’m gonna head back.”

Bolin frowns. “You okay, Asami?”

“Yeah, I’m just – tired.”

“Want me to walk you to your dorm?”

Asami grins and waves him off. “No, no. Go have fun. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Bolin presses. “It’s dark out.”

“I’ll walk her to her dorm,” Kuvira volunteers brightly. “I’ve got an 8 o’clock class tomorrow so I need to start heading back anyway.”

Bolin glances at Asami, and she nods her head, giving her approval. Bolin waves a salute before running off to join the game of beer pong.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Asami is a little more sober and enjoying the fresh night air on their walk to her dorm. Or trying to. Kuvira keeps glancing at her out of the corner of her eye, and it’s starting to make her uncomfortable.  

“So,” Kuvira drawls, “you’re a junior, right?”

“Senior,” Asami corrects, her word clipped.

“Oh, cool, cool.” Kuvira bobs her head. “I’m a junior.”

“Nice.”

“What’s your major?”

“Mechanical engineering, you?”

“Undecided.”

“Ah.”

“Hey, wanna get some coffee?” Kuvira jabs her thumb at the café across the street and Asami bites her lip unsurely. She waggles her eyebrows and adds, “My treat.”

Asami relents because she needs to stop thinking about her roommate. “Sure, why not,” she says and Kuvira beams and grabs her hand, leading her across the street.

* * *

Despite being exhausted, Korra’s having an exceptionally hard time sleeping tonight. Every few minutes she's tossing and turning in bed, her eyes wandering to the glowing red numbers on her nightstand reading 11:23.

The party ended two hours ago.

Where the hell is Asami and why isn’t she replying to her texts or calls.

Korra can’t help but wonder if this is the panicked feeling Asami gets whenever she stumbles through the door at 3 in the morning. A sickening knot settles in the pit of her stomach at that thought. Just as Korra’s about to close her eyes and try once again for sleep, a muffled scream jolts her up. She tilts her head, listening intently, and she hears it again, a sound like someone’s screaming into a pillow.

Korra doesn’t overthink it. She jumps up from her bed and changes her clothes.

* * *

Korra kicks the door open, anger heightening her senses. Smoke billows out of the building and Korra coughs and runs inside, ducking her head into the sleeve of her jacket.

“Come and get us, Avatar!” A voice taunts.

A blur of movement grabs Korra’s attention. She spins on her heel and cautiously approaches a large room. She sees Asami. She’s hanging from the ceiling, duct tape covering her mouth, her wrists bound by rope, and her hair clings to her face like second skin. She’s thrashing around, trying to break free from her bonds.

Korra’s heart throbs painfully in her chest. Unthinkingly, she enters the room fully and moves to Asami side. “I’m gonna get you out of here, Asami,” she soothes, extending her hand to cup Asami’s ankle. “I promise,”

Although Asami can’t see her face due to the ski mask, she calms down. and Korra smiles, but it quickly drops as Asami’s eyes widen in horror and she screams beneath the tape, jerking her head frantically.

“How romantic,” Kuvira coos.

Korra holds her breath and turns around and comes face to face with the barrel of a gun.

“Long time no see, _friend_. How about you take that mask off so we can face each other friend to...” Kuvira pauses and gives her a thorough once-over, “monster. Or freak. Whichever term you prefer works for me, since they’re both accurate descriptions of you.”

Korra growls and slings her mask off, her short hair dangling on her shoulders as she drops it to the ground. “You’re such an asshole,” she spits.

Kuvira smirks. “Rather be an asshole than an abnormal freak.” Her hair is wild and her face is liven and her eyes are sunken in. “Enough chit-chat, time for you to die. Oh, and don't worry about trying to bend your way out of this, the gas won't let you.”

Right then, several things happen at once: Asami’s muffled screams grow in volume, smoke thickens the air, and Kuvira places her finger on the trigger.

At this same moment, Korra realizes she can still take Kuvira down, or at least save Asami.

She jumps on Kuvira, her sudden body weight causing the taller woman to stumble down. They wrestle over the gun, Kuvira punching her in the face and trying to shake her off. Korra holds on, grinding her teeth and ducking her head and elbowing Kuvira hard in the stomach. Kuvira wheezes and let’s go of the gun. It slides across the gravel floor. Korra uses this opportunity to grab it. She quickly gathers to her feet and points the gun at a smirking, wild-eyed Kuvira.

That’s when she hears the timer.

Kuvira cackles. “One minute.”

Korra’s eyes widen. She dashes over to Asami and frantically grabs a couple of chairs. She stacks one on top of the other and uses them to reach Asami. She unties the rope binding her hands and Asami falls to ground.

Korra jumps down. “Are you okay?” she asks.

Asami rips the tape off her mouth and winces. “Fine.” She grabs Korra’s hand. “Let’s go.”

They reach the door before Korra halts their movements and glances back at Kuvira. The woman’s eyes are glazed over and she’s watching them leave with a blank expression.

Asami tugs at her hand urgently. “C’mon, Korra, let’s go.”

"She could've killed us," Korra points out, her eyes soft, "but she didn't."

Korra drops Asami’s hand and runs back to Kuvira. She hauls the woman over her shoulder and Asami’s mouth drops open. Despite her shock, Asami opens the door and they escape with seconds to spare.

* * *

They drop Kuvira off at a hospital before heading back to their dorm room. As soon as they enter the room, Asami lightly slams Korra against the door.

“So you can bend the elements.”

Korra licks her dry lips. “I can.” She flicks her thumb, a flicker of fire appearing before she quickly blows it out.

“And you have super hearing.”

“I do.”

“And you just saved my life.”

Before Korra can reply, Asami settles a hand on her waist and drags her into a kiss. Korra closes her eyes and sighs into it. It’s warm and sticky and tastes slightly of alcohol and smoke, but it’s undoubtedly the best kiss she’s ever had.

“Sweet dreams, Avatar,” Asami purrs as she pulls away. Korra’s dazed and her eyes are half-lidded and Asami can’t resist pecking her on the lips one more time. “We’ll talk more in the morning. For now, get some sleep.”

“Okay,” Korra says breathlessly, forcing herself not to chase after Asami’s mouth.

Asami pecks her on the lips one more time the she struts to her room and Korra’s eyes follow her the whole way.

Korra sighs dreamily and decides that having super hearing isn't so bad after all.

 

**FIN**


End file.
